Skipworths from around Louth, Lincolnshire descended from Edward Skipworth of Grimoldby Introduction .......................................................................................................................................2 Locality Map......................................................................................................................................3 Forbears and Siblings of Edward Skipwith of Grimoldby .................................................................4 Grimoldby Chart................................................................................................................................5 First Generation................................................................................................................................6 Second Generation (Children)..........................................................................................................8 Third Generation (Grandchildren).....................................................................................................9 Fourth Generation (Great-Grandchildren) ......................................................................................11 Fifth & Sixth Generations (1x & 2x Great-Grandchildren) ..............................................................15 Source Citations .............................................................................................................................28 Appendix 1 Will of Rebekah DUNHAM of Alvingham..............................................................32 Names Index...................................................................................................................................33 Compiled by Mary Skipworth Updated 7 Apr 2011 Descendants of Edward Skipworth of Grimoldby Introduction Throughout the nineteenth century, this group of families, descended from Edward Skipworth and Jane Seabright of Grimoldby, have generally remained quite close to their point of origin. It seems that the industrial revolution virtually passed most of them by. Most of the villages mentioned can be found on a map 30 kilometres across. Apparent inconsistencies have arisen in these and other Skipworth families through individuals changing the way their names are expressed. The order of Christian names may have been reversed, or a second Christian name added, or adopted as the sole name. There are also apparent inconsistencies in the places of birth as stated in the census returns, particularly when a young person has left home. Either the person filling in the census return was not accurately informed, or the person remembered the place they grew up, not the place of birth. Transcription errors have crept in, both in compiling the original returns, and in the production of modern indexes. However, unless otherwise indicated in the notes, I am reasonably confident of the identifications because of the relative rarity of the surname and the completeness of the census coverage. Where the occupation is given as servant this means a live-in employee. It could be a domestic servant in the modern sense, but it could also be a labourer or a trade employee. The original census image will often clarify ambiguous cases. A note on spelling. Edward Skipwith/Skipworth's life 1716-1759 spanned a period when the surname spelling was particularly fluid. In earlier times Skipwith was the predominant form, with Skipworth an occasional variant. By the end of the century Skipworth was established as the common spelling with Skipwith still occurring occasionally. This is particularly noticeable in the Grimoldby parish registers in the 1750s when both Edward and his brother Thomas were regularly bringing their offspring for baptisms or burials. In some years all the entries are Skipwiths, in other years they are all Skipworths, the choice appearing to depend on the whim of the clerk writing up the Register. For convenience I have adopted the Skipworth spelling throughout this document, regardless of what was used in the sources. The variant Shipworth appears occasionally, but I am convinced that this is not a genuine surname, simply a recording error. A bigger problem occurs with the recording of some Skipworths as Hepworth, and some Hepworths as Skipworth. Hepworth is a regular surname, with one of its centres in Cambridgeshire and the Fens. By tracing a family group through several census one can often untangle these errors. No attempt has been made to follow the descendants of married daughters, though I would be happy to include a link if such details have been published elsewhere. I acknowledge the generous help I have had from other family members and apologise for the fact that it has not always been practical to identify their particular contributions. The sharing of this account is my thanks, please feel free to use any part of it as you wish. I would be pleased to be notified of any further errors or additions at the address below. - 2 - Compiled by Mary Skipworth, updated 7 Apr 2011 Descendants of Edward Skipworth of Grimoldby Locality Map Scale: The area shown is approx 30 kilometres square Villages of interest: Manby, Grimoldby, North Reston, Tathwell, Raithby, Authorpe, Legbourne, Haugham, Sausthorpe - 3 - Compiled by Mary Skipworth, updated 7 Apr 2011 Descendants of Edward Skipworth of Grimoldby Forbears and Siblings of Edward Skipwith of Grimoldby - 4 - Compiled by Mary Skipworth, updated 26 Mar 2011 Descendants of Edward Skipworth of Grimoldby - 5 - Compiled by Mary Skipworth, updated 26 Mar 2011 Descendants of Edward Skipworth of Grimoldby First Generation 1. Edward SKIPWORTH of Grimoldby, son of Philip SKIPWORTH of Alvingham and Rebecca WILSON, was christened on 7 Sep 1716 in Alvingham, Lincolnshire 1 and died in Grimoldby in 1760 2 at age 44. Edward was only four years old when his father Philip died in 1720, leaving his mother with 4 or 5 young children. Necessity dictated that a new father should be found to support them, and Rebecca remarried about a year later to Andrew DUNHAM. They continued to live at Alvingham, almost certainly at Philip's Abbey Farm, where they had two more children. In her will made in 1734 [full text in Appendix 1], Rebecca, by then widowed for a second time, left thirty pounds each to three of her Skipworth children and twenty pounds each to her two Dunham children, the difference acknowledging the contribution of Philip's estate. Philip had died intestate, but a detailed inventory of his possessions has survived, showing a total value of £253-04-08. On Rebecca’s death, his eldest son, another Philip whom I refer to as Philip of Aylesby, took over the farm with its stock and chattels. In monetary terms his inheritance amounted to the £253 from his father’s inventory, less the £90 reserved for his siblings, with perhaps some augmentation from the period between his father’s and his mother’s deaths. His teen-aged siblings would have remained on the farm until each in turn married and established their own homes. The advantage of being the eldest son can be gauged from the wills of the brothers Philip and Edward in the next generation. Philip's unmarried daughter received £150, while Edward's children each received £5. The discrepancies in the inheritances of their eldest sons was almost certainly much greater, Philip's heir was to establish himself as a gentleman and significant land- owner, with power and influence in that part of the county, while Edward's heir was a small tenant farmer. A century later, Philip's heirs owned about 6000 acres and were entering the professions, while the more successful of Edward's heirs were tenants on 20 - 30 acres, and many of them were agricultural labourers and domestic servants. Edward described himself as a husbandman of Grimoldby when he made his will on 2nd November 1759. ........ Calling to mind the mortality of my body, and knowing that it is appointed for all men once to die, [I] do make and ordain this my last will and testament thats to say: I give and recommend my soul into the hands of Allmighty God that gave it, and my body I recommend to the earth to be buried, nothing doubting but at the general resurrection I shall receive the same again by the almighty power of God, and as touching such worldly estate wherewith it has pleased God to bless me in this life, I give and dispose of the same in the following manner and form: Item: I give to my four children five pounds each to be paid when they come to the age of twenty-one years each. And Thomas Skipworth and Andrew Dunham to be guardians for them ...... Edward made his mark instead of signing, on 2 November 1759, which probably indicates illiteracy, though it was common at that time to make a will when death was quite close with the testator barely capable of signing. The handwriting shows that the preliminary statement had been prepared in advance of the detailed instructions, so was probably not Edward's wording at all. The guardians were his brother and his stepbrother. The term husbandman meant someone who operated a farm, with the implication that he worked his [leasehold] land himself. The will was proved in Lincoln Consistory Court in 1760. He must have been very close to death as it was only a week later that his goods were being appraised for his inventory (page 7). It shows that he was worth £100 less (41%) than his father, or put another way that he owned 43 animals compared with his father’s eighty nine. This was the accepted outcome for a younger son, unless he was fortunate enough to marry an heiress.